Thursday, April 12, 2012

regarding Gunter Grass' poem

Our psychology, while developed to protect the individual, is very
dangerous. At root is the thought that one’s own thinking is objective.

The individual easily assumes that his own reasoning is both logical
and based on a hard reality. One also jumps to
conclusions about the thinking of others based on suspicion. All of this
swims within the mindset created by the psychological environment of
the times, in which history plays a large part.

The frightening thing about Israel’s leadership is the mindset of
victimization, of “never again”. This paranoia that gives rise to epic
self-righteousness sees aggression and the stockpiling of weapon upon
weapon as normal, it sees the unilateral pre-emptive strike as prudent.
It sees “get him before he gets you” as common sense. With this mindset,
what the world sees as peace will never come because no action on the
part of the other except abject subservience will ever be acceptable.

Netanyahu and friends are incapable of seeing themselves in the other
and do not have any conception that humiliation is unappealing to
everyone; Jew, Arab and Iranian alike.

Outside Israel, the horror of the holocaust and feelings of guilt
have created a different mindset, one that says “we must never criticize
Jews, because they are a special case in history with which we are
complicit” This is strongest in Germany for obvious reasons and it is
made manifest by submarines and financial payments.

Put these two complimentary mindsets together and you have a license
for Israel to commit all manner of mayhem – the perpetrators feeling no
qualms about whatever they do, and the Western observers trying to
assuage their consciences by saying little or nothing about the mayhem.

This is why Grass so perfectly titles his effort “what must be said”.
He wants to shatter this rigid psychological crystal that binds both
the Israelis and the West and makes Israeli initiated tragedy
inevitable.

Israel is a not a result of the action of a group of dedicated Jewish
fighters in Palestine. That was necessary but not sufficient for the
creation. Far from a miracle of God as some would have it, Israel is the
result of the complementary mindsets described above acting in concert.
As with so many things, what seemed to many like a good idea at the
time is now playing out into a disaster of human rights and potential
world war.

Grass’ work will likely have little effect on his generation or the
one after. It is only the youth who are born free of the mindset (before
it is inculcated) that have the fresh eyes that will make it possible
to stop feeding Israel with the weaponry that makes it the beast it was
inevitable it would come to be.

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This blog is directed to Americans by an American and dedicated to the Israeli human rights non-governmental-organizations that work tirelessly against the oppressive policy of the Israeli government regarding the Palestinians. They take seriously what the United States Pledge of Allegiance says - "with liberty and justice for all". They, not the government of Israel, deserve our respect and support.